~ Business Angels Association of Turkey

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About TBAA

TBAA – The Turkish Trade Association for Business Angels and Early Stage Market Players

Established in 2011 by a group of pioneer business angels in Turkey, it represents a sector that is expected to invest an estimated 500 million Euros annually in a few years’ time and has a key role to play in Turkey’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs and the creation of wealth and jobs. Most TBAA business angel network members are accredited by the government, and over 500 angel investors are members of these 10 BANs. The TBAA has 6 committees: The Crowdfunding Committee. The Innovation & Technoparks Committee, The Incubation Centers Committee, The Start-up Committee, The Exit Committee, and The Mentorship Committee. The TBAA has seen its members hold important positions in the international arena, including the Vice Presidency of EBAN and board membership in the World Business Angels Association in the UK.

TBAA Mission:

To enable Turkish entrepreneurs to become familiar with a culture of partnerhipNow it is time for Turkish entrepreneurs to embrace a completely new model of entrepreneurship introduced by the TBAA –Business Angels Association of Turkey. A ‘partnership culture’ whereby businessmen of acumen are invited to form partnerships with rising entrepreneurs.

TBAA is easing the way for entrepreneurs planning start-ups to access both domestic and international financial sources.

As entrepreneurial businessmen of experience and acumen we have come together under the umbrella of TBAA to contribute to Turkey’s economic ecosystem by facilitating start-up business’ access to national and international capital.

Turkey has a strong angel investment law

The Undersecretaries of the Treasury of Turkey introduced a new system to encourage angel investments in Turkey. A law on the promotion of angel investments was enacted in Turkey in 2012 and the system was launched in 2013 with secondary legislation. It aims to introduce a new instrument for SMEs that are struggling with funding at their early development stages , to increase professionalism and improve business ethics, to make angel capital an institutionalized and trusted source of finance, and to make angel investing attractive through state support.

In practice, the Turkish Treasury licenses business angels who want to benefit from tax incentives for their investments. Accordingly, 75% of the participation shares of qualifying Turkish based joint stock companies (private venture companies) held by ‘‘business angels’’ can be deducted from the business angel’s annual income tax base if the shares are held for at least two years. The maximum annual deductible amount is 1 million TL. This is the highest tax incentive amount in the world, followed by 30% in the UK and 25% in Portugal.

As the country that offers the highest tax incentives to business angels, Turkey has 282 accredited business angels recognized by the government. It is one of the few countries in the world with a ‘Business Angel Investment Law’ and is the only country in the world which has a Private Market on its stock exchange, where angel investors and start-ups come together.

TBAA, EBAN and the Istanbul Stock Exchange signed an agreement last year in Istanbul to develop the early stage market in Turkey. The agreement encourages both the TBAA and the Istanbul Stock Exchange to go beyond Turkey to create a regional hub for start-ups and business angels, particularly in South-East Europe, where raising funds and access to finance is easier for both angel investors and start-ups.

Turkey becomes the First Country-Member of the United Nations of Business Angels

In line with a unanimous decision of its founding members, the Business Angels Association of Turkey (TBAA) represents Turkey at the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN) in Washington, DC. The TBAA has been designated as the first national member in this organization. The GBAN Executive Committee selects one organization per country to serve as the interface between that nation’s angel community and GBAN efforts.

TBAA hosted European Business Angels Investment Forum last year in Istanbul

The TBAA hosted the 11th EBAN Winter University in 2011 and the European Business Angels Investment Forum in 2014 in Istanbul. EBAN, the TBAA and the Istanbul Stock Exchange signed a collaboration agreement in 2014 to foster the early stage investment market in Turkey and South-East Europe. More than 200 business Angels from 42 countries participated in the forum, which was held at the Shangri La Bosphorus of Istanbul, one of the best hotels of Europe.

With its Excellence Awards for South-East Europe, the Business Angels Association of Turkey (TBAA) looks beyond Turkey. It seeks to promote and nurture start-ups, angels, and a dynamic business community throughout the region. From business angels to policymakers to academics, the Awards salute those who stand out in imagining, discussing, and shaping the future of an entrepreneurial South-East Europe. Given the diverse challenges the world is facing in the twenty-first century, it is important to recognize that entrepreneurship can have a major impact on our future, offering new ways to increase economic opportunities and to foster social justice.

The Business Angels Association of Turkey (TBAA) aims to contribute to that impact by driving positive changes that will facilitate entrepreneurship. Fostering entrepreneurship whose effects can be felt in both economic and social arenas is a hallmark of the TBAA.

The South-East Europe TBAA Excellence Awards recognize notable activities in these fields, not just in Turkey, but throughout South-East Europe as well, saluting outstanding contributors to entrepreneurship and the angel investment ecosystems in the region.

The TBAA regularly organises investment delegation trips to South-East Europe. The delegation is comprised of top-level executives of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Istanbul Technical University Technopark, and prominent business angel networks in Turkey.

The main purpose of this delegation is to listen to the pitches of start-ups in South-East Europe and to explore opportunities for angel investment in this particular region. Another aim is to create an awareness of angel investment in these countries and to encourage policymakers to create a more favorable environment for entrepreneurs and start-ups.

This delegation’s visits are in line with with the recommendations of the B20 to G20 countries, as access to finance in this particular region of the world is one of the main issues of the region.